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Siena Saints
The '''Siena Saints men's basketball team represents Siena College in Loudonville, New York, United States. The Division I program competes in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. The Saints are coached by Mitch Buonaguro who just completed his first season as head coach at Siena after serving as Fran McCaffery's top assistant. Siena plays all of its home games at the 14,500 all-seater Times Union Center in downtown Albany. Since 1988, the team has appeared in six NCAA Tournaments (1989, 1999, 2002, 2008, 2009 and 2010 ) and five NIT Tournaments (1988, 1991, 1994, 2000, and 2003). Siena's record in postseason play is 13-11 (4-6 NCAA, 9-5 NIT). History 1989-2000 In 1989, Siena star Marc Brown led the school to their greatest triumph an 80-78 victory over third seeded Stanford. The 1993-1994 Saints finished 25-8 making all the way to the NIT final four at Madison Square Garden defeating such teams as Georgia Tech, Tulane, Bradley, and Kansas State. Siena’s Doremus Bennerman capped his brilliant college career with a 51-point outburst against Kansas State, winning most outstanding player honors in the NIT. Brown (2,284) and Bennerman (2,109) are the only two men to score 2,000 points or more while at Siena. After coach Mike Deane (166-77 in 8 years at Siena) left to take the head coaching job at Marquette, Siena suffered through a terrible 22-59 three year tenure under Bob Beyer, who was fired. Siena then hired Villanova assistant Paul Hewitt to resurrect the program. Hewitt did so leading the Saints to a 66-27 record during his three years, winning the MAAC tournament championship in 1999 and taking regular season crown in 2000. Hewitt would leave after the 1999-2000 season to take over at Georgia Tech. 2000-04 Louis Orr coached the team for one season (20-11) before leaving for Seton Hall University. Siena then hired Rob Lanier, an assistant under Rick Barnes at University of Texas. In Lanier's first year Siena struggled through a brutal regular season going 12-18. However the team went on to win the MAAC championship on their home floor and become the first team since Bradley in 1955 to win an NCAA Tournament game with a losing record as they defeated Alcorn State 81-77 in the play in game. Siena would gain an NIT berth in 2003, going 21-11 and beating Big East member Providence along the way. They defeated Villanova and Western Michigan in the NIT before being eliminated by Alabama-Birmingham. Lanier's final two years brought much frustration among Siena fans. In 2003-04, Siena started off 3-0 only to lose their next 10 games and finish the season a disappointing 14-16. Lanier's final year saw an injury-plagued Siena team finish with a program worst 24 losses and he was fired after that season. McCaffery takes over 2005–2006 Fran McCaffery was hired to April 1, 2005 as the 14th coach in Siena history, the 8th at the division 1 level. McCaffery inherited a team with only a handful of scholarship athletes because several players loyal to coach Lanier transferred to other programs, including Jack McClinton, who went on to earn first team all-ACC honors at the University of Miami. McCaffery's first recruit landed was Kenny Hasbrouck who would go on to score 1,918 points at Siena, earning MAAC Rookie of the Year, MAAC Player of the Year and Mid-Major Player of the Year honors along the way. Hasbrouck started all 128 of his games as a Saint and upon graduation became only the second Siena player to have his jersery retired. McCaffery guided Siena to a 15-13 record despite being picked to finish last in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference. Siena had memorable wins over cross-town rival Albany 82-74 in overtime, as well as an 82-76 triumph at eventual MAAC champion Iona. The Saints clinched a first round bye in the MAAC tournament with a thrilling 98-92 double overtime victory over Niagara on senior day. Siena's season ended with a heartbreaking 63-62 loss to St. Peter's in the MAAC quarterfinals. 2006–07 The Saints started slowly at 11-10 before winning 9 of 10 games to reach the MAAC championship game losing to Niagara 83-79. Siena finished at 20-12, winning 20 or more games for the fifth time in nine seasons. Once again Siena defeated Albany in another instant classic game 76-75 in double overtime. Siena was one of the youngest teams in the conference as five of their top eight players were underclassmen. Freshman Edwin Ubiles shared the Rookie of the Year award in the MAAC becoming the second player in as many years to win it for the Saints. Kenny Hasbrouck captured the honor in 2005-2006. 2007–08 On November 17 McCaffery guided Siena to a 79-67 victory over #20 Stanford University in Albany, NY at the Times Union Center. The win was Siena's first over a ranked opponent since the 1989 NCAA tournament first round also against Stanford. Siena once again defeated Albany 75-71 for their sixth win in seven tries against the Great Danes since the series resumed. Siena dominated their Bracketbuster game against Boise State, another quality mid-major school. The Saints defeated Manhattan, Loyola College (MD), and Rider to win the MAAC Tournament and clinch a bid in the NCAA Tournament. During Selection Sunday, the Saints received a #13 seed in the Midwest Region of the 2008 NCAA Tournament. The Saints went on to upset the 4th seeded Vanderbilt Commodores in the first round of the tournament 83-62. The Saints were led by junior Kenny Hasbrouck who scored a team high 30 points. Senior guard Tay Fisher came off the bench to add 19 points on 6-for-6 shooting from 3-point range. The Saints never trailed in the contest and became the first MAAC team to advance since the 2004 tournament. In the second round of the tournament, the Saints found themselves facing the #12 seed Villanova Wildcats on March 23, 2008. With 25 points from Scottie Reynolds and 20 points from Corey Stokes, the Wildcats cruised to an 84–72 victory over the Saints and Villanova advanced to the sweet sixteen. Siena was ranked 9th in the final mid-major poll on collegeinsider.com. 2008–09 Siena finished the 2008–09 season with a 23–7 regular season record. Quality wins from the Saints came in the opening game of the season against Boise State, who they beat by 30, an 18 point victory against Cornell (Ivy League Conference champions and a #14 seed in the 2008 NCAA tournament), and a 6 point victory against Northern Iowa (the Missouri Valley Conference Champions and a #12 seed) in the ESPN Bracketbusters game that wasn't as close as the score indicated. Siena finished a perfect 17-0 at Times Union Center. Siena's very tough non-conference schedule included losses to Tennessee (a #9 seed) by 14, Oklahoma State (a #8 seed) by 9, Pittsburgh (#1 seed) by 13, and Kansas (#3 seed) by 7. Siena's strong showings in these tough matchups earned Siena a well deserved #9 seed. The Saints cruised through the MAAC Tournament to receive the automatic bid into the 2009 NCAA Tournament for the second straight year. Siena was awarded a #9 seed in the Midwest region, where they drew #8 Ohio State in Dayton, Ohio. Siena defeated Ohio State 74–72 in a double overtime thriller with Ronald Moore making a late three point shot. Siena would go on to lose to the #1 seeded Louisville Cardinals in the second round 79-72 after leading taking a four point lead with under 7 minutes left. They ended their season at 27-8. Siena finished #2 in the final mid-major poll behind only national powerhouse Gonzaga. Siena finished 28th in the final ESPN coaches poll the schools highest ever ranking. Siena also finished with an RPI of 19. 2009–2010 Ronald Moore dribbles toward the basket in a game against Loyola in January 2010. ]] Siena entered the 2009-10 season with the highest expectations in program history. Another slow start put the Saints at 4-3 after a loss at Georgia Tech. Once again Siena made their move going 23-3 to capture their third straight MAAC championship and berth in the NCAA tournament. Siena defeated Fairfield 72-65 in the MAAC championship game in a heart-stopping finish in overtime after trailing by 13 points early in the second half. Alex Franklin was named MAAC tournament MVP in addition to winning the conference's player of the year award. Siena set a single season record for MAAC regular season wins (17). Despite dominating the MAAC (winning 44 of their last 47 conference games dating back to 2008) the Saints struggled in the second half losing road games to elite team such as Temple, Butler, Georgia Tech and Northern Iowa. Siena's late rally came up short against fourth seeded Purdue in a 72-64 loss in the first round of the NCAA tournament. Siena finished 27-7 the second straight season the school won 27 games. Buonaguro gets his shot 2010–2011 Long time Siena assistant coach Mitch Buonaguro took over as head coach after McCaffery left for Iowa. The Saints struggled through a 13-18 season that ended with a 94-64 loss to Iona in the MAAC quarterfinals. Siena's marquee win was a 62-57 triumph over Georgia Tech at the Times Union Center. Retired numbers #4 - Marc Brown #10 - Billy Harrell #41 - Kenny Hasbrouck MAAC Player-of-Year winners 1991: Marc Brown 1994: Doremus Bennerman 2009: Kenny Hasbrouck 2010: Alex Franklin 2011: Ryan Rossiter Top 10 All-time leading scorers Marc Brown (2284) Doremus Bennerman (2109) Edwin Ubiles (1939) Kenny Hasbrouck (1917) Alex Franklin (1730) Marcus Faison (1697) Jeff Robinson (1657) Dwayne Archbold (1644) Michael Haddix (1594) Ryan Rossiter (1457) NCAA Tournament Results The Saints have appeared in six NCAA Tournaments. Their combined record is 4-6. *1989- Round of 32 Stanford W, 80-78 Minnesota L, 80-67 *1999- Round of 64 Arkansas L, 94-80 *2002- Round of 64 Alcorn State W, 81-77 Maryland L, 85-70 *2008- Round of 32 Vanderbilt W, 83-62 Villanova L, 84-72 *2009- Round of 32 Ohio State W, 74-72 (OT) Louisville L, 79-72 *2010- Round of 64 Purdue L, 72-64 Season-by-season results (Division I only) Current roster References External Links *Official athletics site Category:NCAA Division I schools Category:Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference members Category:Schools in New York